(This story was updated April 22 to reflect that the Gregory Alan Isakov concert originally announced has been canceled. It was updated March 26 to reflect that a Boulder venue has not been chosen for Christmas with the Phil on Dec. 20.)

If you go

What: Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra's 2015-16 season

Where: All events except "Christmas with the Phil" are at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado campus

Also notable are two guest composers, including one extended residency, two major guest soloists, and a special event in which Gregory Alan Isakov, a Nederland-based indie-folk artist, performs with the orchestra.

Music director Michael Butterman, who will direct his ninth season with the Boulder Philharmonic, spoke with the Camera about the schedule, which orchestra officials released Thursday.

While the season is not as thematically driven as the group's past two cycles, the title "Reflections" developed from a world-premiere work to be presented in November based on the poetry of Henry David Thoreau.

"It's an eclectic season," Butterman said, "but there is something Boulder-ish about every program, and they all show art as a reflection of life and the natural world."

As usual, there is a mix of standard masterpieces and unfamiliar new works.

For the third straight year, opening night will be on a Sunday (Sept. 13), though at an earlier time (7 p.m.).

"The program is actually similar to last season's opener," Butterman said. Like that program, it features concertmaster Charles Wetherbee in a solo role, along with a guest pianist playing a romantic warhorse concerto. Wetherbee performs "The Storyteller," a piece written for him by Korine Fujiwara, his colleague in the Carpe Diem String Quartet. Butterman sets the "story" theme by opening with Ravel's "Mother Goose Suite."

After intermission, the first major guest artist, pianist Gabriela Montero, plays Rachmaninoff's beloved Second Conerto. Butterman said Montero is known for her "freakish" improvisation skills and that he hopes the audience demands an encore so she can show them off.

Next follows Isakov's appearance on Oct. 10 at the usual time of 7:30 p.m. Butterman said Isakov's acoustic style lends itself well to the sonic possibilities of the orchestra.

"These special concerts are always good for audience development," he said.

On Nov. 14, Denver-based composer and pianist Charles Denler joins the orchestra in the world premiere of his "Portraits in Season" inspired by Thoreau. Denler plays the piano part in the piece. The performance will be accompanied by projections of photography by John Fiedler.

"With new pieces, I find it always helps for there to be something to look at," Butterman said, "and John's work kept coming up in connection with this."

Fiedler, whose work also will appear in a Colorado Music Festival summer concert, has created a more intimate selection of images than his usual landscapes, matching Thoreau's aesthetic.

Denler's composition is sandwiched between two works by Johannes Brahms.

The first, the brief and masterful "Schicksalslied" ("Song of Destiny") for chorus and orchestra, is sung by the Boulder Chorale, which frequently has collaborated with the orchestra in the past and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2015-16. Butterman closes the program with the composer's Second Symphony, which often is described as a "pastoral" symphony inspired by nature.

The annual Nutcracker, performed with the Boulder Ballet, will feature brand-new scenery for its four performances, Nov. 27-29. After a one-year absence and audience demand, "Christmas with the Phil" returns at 2 p.m. Dec. 20. The concert will conducted by Gary Lewis, the University of Colorado's director of orchestras, at a Boulder venue to be announced. The orchestra is joined by the Boulder Bach Festival Chorus.

On Jan. 16, 2016, the Phil will perform "Dance, American Style." The all-American program opens with William Schuman's "New England Triptych," a masterpiece that Butterman originally wanted to include with Denler's piece. But the conductor instead will pair it with Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story." The second half includes selections from Copland's "Billy the Kid" and a complete performance of that composer's half-hour ballet score, "Rodeo," with choreography by the Boulder Ballet.

On Feb. 12, a Friday, composer Missy Mazzoli is the Phil's guest in a Music Alive Composer Residency. A performance of her "Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)" opens the concert. The piece originally was written for chamber orchestra but will be given in a new expanded orchestration. Mazzoli will spend the week in Boulder with the orchestra and students in various events.

The program, called "Spheres of Influence," continues with Shostakovich's Ninth Symphony, Tchaikovsky's "Mozartiana" Suite and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, all works that hark back to a classical-period sensibility.

"We didn't have any actual classical-era composers this season," Butterman said, "so I thought this sort of made up for that." Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, probably the most high-profile guest artist of the season, performs the Mendelssohn.

On April 2, the acrobatic, aerial Cirque dancers return for two performances of "Cirque de la Symphonie" — an afternoon matinee and regular evening performance. The program will be similar to the popular one presented in 2013, but to a different high-energy music program, Butterman said.

The main event by far is the season finale (7 p.m. April 23), when the Phil will join forces with the Central City Opera, Boulder Bach Festival and CU Choruses.

CCO general director Pat Pearce had approached Butterman about the possibility of a collaborative, immersive effort in Boulder. At the same time, Boulder Bach Festival music director Zachary Carrettin also expressed interest in a joint effort.

The resulting concept will be a performance of the "St. Matthew Passion," which is highly dramatic and operatic.

Carrettin and Wetherbee will serve as leaders of the two antiphonal instrumental groups, and Butterman conducts. Soloists are yet to be determined. CCO will be responsible for the staged element.

"It's a piece you live for as a musician," Butterman said. "I can't put into words what it means to do it. Experiencing it in Macky Auditorium will definitely be different from a church setting."

Composer Missy Mazzoli will spend a week in Boulder in February working with the Boulder Phil on her piece, "Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)." (Stephen Taylor / Courtesy photo)

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